Immune benefit of combined heart and liver transplantation

Pediatric Combined Heart-liver Transplantation: A Single-center Long-term Experience

Background

Combined heart liver transplant (CHLT) continues to gain attention as a surgical treatment for patients with end-stage heart and liver disease but remains rare. We present our institutional longitudinal experience with up to 14 y of follow-up, focused on long-term outcomes in CHLT recipients.

Methods

We conducted a single-institutional, retrospective review from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2023, including 7 patients ages 7-17 y who underwent CHLT.

Results

Most patients were surgically palliated via Fontan procedure pretransplant (n = 6), and all had evidence of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis before transplant. The 30-d mortality was 14.3% (n = 1, multiorgan failure). During the follow-up period, 1 patient developed acute heart rejection which required treatment and 2 developed acute liver rejection. In all cases, rejection was successfully treated. Two patients developed acute heart rejection which did not require treatment (grade 1R). No patients developed chronic or refractory rejection. No patients developed allograft coronary artery vasculopathy.

Conclusions

CHLT remains a rarely performed treatment for pediatric patients with end-stage heart and liver disease, but our long-term data suggest that this treatment strategy should be considered more frequently.

Mortality and morbidity after combined heart and liver transplantation in the failing Fontan: An updated dual center retrospective study

INTRODUCTION

As the adult Fontan population with Fontan associated liver disease continues to increase, more patients are being referred for transplantation, including combined heart and liver transplantation.

METHODS

We report updated mortality and morbidity outcomes after combined heart and liver transplant in a retrospective cohort series of 40 patients (age 14 to 49 years) with Fontan circulation across two centers from 2006-2022.

RESULTS

The 30-day, 1-year, 5-year and 10-year survival rate was 90%, 80%, 73% and 73% respectively. Sixty percent of patients met a composite comorbidity of needing either post-transplant mechanical circulatory support, renal replacement therapy or tracheostomy. Cardiopulmonary bypass time > 283 min (4.7 h) and meeting the composite comorbidity were associated with mortality by Kaplan Meier analysis.

CONCLUSION

Further study to mitigate early mortality and the above comorbidities as well as the high risk of bleeding and vasoplegia in this patient population is warranted.

Fontan-Associated Liver Disease: A Review

Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) is a chronic complication of the Fontan procedure, a palliative surgery for patients with congenital heart disease that results in a single-ventricle circulation. The success of the Fontan procedure has led to a growing population of post-Fontan patients living well into adulthood. For this population, FALD is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. It encompasses a spectrum of hepatic abnormalities, ranging from mild fibrosis to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathophysiology of FALD is multifactorial, involving hemodynamic and inflammatory factors. The diagnosis and monitoring of FALD present many challenges. Conventional noninvasive tests that use liver stiffness as a surrogate marker of fibrosis are unreliable in FALD, where liver stiffness is also a result of congestion due to the Fontan circulation. Even invasive tissue sampling is inconsistent due to the patchy distribution of fibrosis. FALD is also associated with both benign and malignant liver lesions, which may exhibit similar imaging features. There is therefore a need for validated diagnostic and surveillance protocols to address these challenges. The definitive treatment of end-stage FALD is also a subject of controversy. Both isolated heart transplantation and combined heart-liver transplantation have been employed, with the latter becoming increasingly preferred in the US. This article reviews the current literature on the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of FALD, and highlights knowledge gaps that require further research.

Novel Therapeutic Strategies in Heart Failure in Adult Congenital Heart Disease: of Medicines and Devices

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This paper reviews the latest literature on the growing field of heart failure in the adult congenital heart disease population.

RECENT FINDINGS

After highlighting the increasing prevalence and a few of the unique potential causes, including the concept of early senescence, this review begins with novel medical management strategies such as the angiotensin II receptor blocker and neprilysin inhibitors and sodium glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors. Then, it addresses the latest applications of percutaneous techniques like implantable hemodynamic monitoring, transcatheter pulmonary and aortic valve replacement, and mitral clips. Cardiac resynchronization therapy and novel lymphatic system imaging and intervention are then described. Finally, the use of mechanical support devices, temporary and durable, is discussed as well as heart and combined heart and liver transplantation. There have been recent exciting advances in the strategies used to manage adult congenital heart disease patients with heart failure. As this population continues to grow, it is likely we will see further rapid evolution in this field.

Update on combined heart and liver transplantation: evolving patient selection, improving outcomes, and outstanding questions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Combined heart and liver transplantation (CHLT) is an uncommon but increasingly performed procedure with rising need as the population who has undergone Fontan palliation for single ventricle physiology grows. This article reviews the current literature to summarize what is known about patient selection and outcomes and highlights the questions that remain.

RECENT FINDINGS

Congenital heart disease (CHD) with Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) has surpassed noncongenital heart disease as the most common indication for CHLT. In patients with failing Fontan physiology, accurate assessment of recoverability of liver injury remains challenging and requires multifaceted evaluation to determine who would benefit from isolated versus dual organ transplantation. Patient survival has improved over time without significant differences between those with and without a diagnosis of CHD. En bloc surgical technique and best use of intraoperative mechanical circulatory support are topics of interest as the field continues to evolve.

SUMMARY

A more refined understanding of appropriate patient selection and indication-specific outcomes will develop as we gain more experience with this complex operation and perform prospective, randomized studies.

Two is better than one: when to consider multiorgan transplant

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Patients with end-stage heart failure often present with concomitant end-stage renal or end-stage liver disease requiring transplantation. There are limited data regarding the risks, benefits and long-term outcomes of heart-kidney (HKT) and heart-liver transplantation (HLT), and guidelines are mainly limited to expert consensus statements.

RECENT FINDINGS

The incidence of HKT and HLT has steadily increased in recent years with favourable outcomes. Both single-centre and large database studies have shown benefits of HKT/HLT through improved survival, freedom from dialysis and lower rates of rejection and coronary allograft vasculopathy. Current guidelines are institution dependent and controversial due to the ethical considerations surrounding multiorgan transplantation (MOT).

SUMMARY

MOT is an effective and necessary option for patients with end-stage heart and kidney/liver failure. MOT is ethically permissible, and efforts should be made to consider eligible patients as early as possible to limit morbidity and mortality. Further research is needed regarding appropriate listing criteria and long-term outcomes.

Combined heart-liver transplantation in a case of haemochromatosis

Hereditary haemochromatosis results in multiorgan dysfunction secondary to iron overload. Haemojuvelin (HJV)-associated haemochromatosis, is a rapidly progressing form of haemochromatosis caused by mutation in the HJV that frequently results in heart and liver failure. Herein, we describe the successful treatment of a 39-year-old woman with decompensated heart failure and liver cirrhosis requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation who was successfully treated with combined heart-liver transplantation. Following her life-saving multiorgan transplantation, she was also noted to have rapid correction of her serum ferritin to normal levels. She remains healthy with excellent allograft function and normal iron and ferratin levels 4 years after the procedure. To our knowledge, this case is the first demonstration that combined heart-liver transplantation is a feasible option for patients with heart and liver failure secondary to HJV-associated haemochromatosis and indeed offers a long-standing corrective solution to treat this condition and restore physiologically normal iron metabolism.

Liver-first strategy for a combined lung and liver transplant in patients with cystic fibrosis

OBJECTIVES

A combined lung and liver transplant in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is an uncommon procedure. The goal of this study was to compare long-term outcomes between patients with CF who underwent either a combined lung-liver or a lung-only transplant.

METHODS

This is a retrospective single-centre study of patients with CF who underwent a lung transplant between January 2005 and May 2020. Since 2006, our preference for a combined lung-liver transplant was to transplant the liver first and then the lung. Outcomes were compared using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and the log-rank test. Median follow-up was 53 (23-97) months.

RESULTS

During the study period, among 357 patients with CF who underwent a lung transplant, 14 (4%) required a lung-liver transplant whereas 343 (96%) had a lung-only transplant. Lung cold ischaemic time was longer in the lung-liver transplant group, but no patient in this group showed primary graft dysfunction at 72 h after the transplant. Prevalence of anti-human leucocyte antigen donor-specific antibodies was 7.1% vs 13.7% in the lung-liver versus the lung-only transplant group (P = 0.42). At 5 years, lung graft survival (78% vs 69%) and freedom from chronic lung allograft dysfunction (79% vs 62%) did not differ between the lung-liver versus the lung-only groups (P = 0.45 and P = 0.55, respectively). Freedom from lung biopsy-confirmed rejection was significantly higher in patients undergoing a lung-liver transplant (91% vs 50%; P = 0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

A lung-liver transplant did not impair lung graft function. The lower prevalence of donor-specific antibodies and the better freedom from lung biopsy-confirmed rejection suggest tolerogenic effects of the liver graft.